Figure 1.-- The Escuela Presidente Roca is locted in Buenos Aires. It is an impressive neoclassical building opened in (1903). It is estentially a Greek temple g with gray, granite columns. It is public primary school, designed by Carlo Morra Mahnes, Marqués de Monterochetta. The boys wear white school smocks variously styled. All the boys wear short pants, we are not sure if that was required or just the common fashion of the time. Usually when all children are dressed alike it is a requirement.

The Escuela Presidente Roca is locted in Buenos Aires. It is an impressive neoclassical building opened in (1903). It is estentially a Greek temple g with gray, granite columns. It is public primary school, designed by Carlo Morra Mahnes, Marqués de Monterochetta. Julio A. Roca was an army general who served as 8th President of Argentina (1880-86 and 1898-1904). He is best knowm directing the 'Conquest of the Desert', a series of military campaigns against the indigenous population of Patagonia. We have found lots of information about the impressive building, but very little about the school inside. It has to be one of the most grandiose primary school building in the world. We wonder how many ordinary primry schools could have been built for the cost of this school. It was the model school of the National Council of Education and is located in front of Plaza Lavalle and the Teatro Colón. The courtyard has Doric colonnades. The upstairs areas include a theater and activity center for the pupils and have beautiful fresco ceilings with Greek decoration. We have archived a photograph we think from the 1950s. At the time it was a boys' school, we think it is now coed. The boys wear white school smocks variously styled. All the boys wear short pants, we are not sure if that was required or just the common fashion of the time. Usually when all children are dressed alike it is a requirement. A reader writes, "If you notice some of the boys wear knee socks others wear ankle socks. And we notice different colored socks. The shoes are different. One boy wear English-style school sandals. The smocks are all white, but styled differently. Some have pointed collars other are rounded. Some are lb-cot style while others appear to be back or side buttoning. The shirts appear to be slightly different, although we can't see much of them. The shorts under the smocks are different, not uniform shorts , but just regular shorts that are all different. My guess is that the requirement was just that the bys wear some kind of short pants. Some but not all of the boys wear nckties. Some have collar-buttoning smocks that would cover up any necktie. Some of the boy have over the shoulder book bags. Others carry a portfolio book satchel or their nooks without a satchel."

Created: 4:57 PM 12/10/2018
Last updated: 7:21 AM 12/11/2018